The Luckiest Girl

Alone, but far from lonely.

Yesterday I took my nephews (Josh, 13 and Nick, 10) on an adventure. We left Lodi and went to Dublin, to BART, headed for San Francisco. There is quite a story to our adventure overall, but as I reflected over all the good (and trying!) times we had, one moment really stuck with me.

Our BART ride took us through a not so glamorous area of Oakland, old warehouses, run down houses, abandoned vehicles, obnoxious (and sometimes offensive) graffiti. Joshua kept a running commentary of the scenery, with comments such as “wow, scary place” and “I’d hate to live around here” as well as other naïve and yet still amusing comments. By the time we passed the same way headed home, it was twilight. There was just a slight orange glow at the bottom of the horizon, and the stars were out overhead. It was that magic time between dark and daylight, and a peculiar thing happened. The city streets below the tracks, previously filled with all the ‘ick’ was transformed in the soft glow of dusk. It was…peaceful, even beautiful. And then as I sat watching the last of the day slip away over the edge of the earth, listening to the deep even breathing of tired children next to me, the magic of that peacefulness seemed to extend even to my very soul, quieting the tension and frustration of the day, releasing me from the burden of ‘getting things right’. Across the isle, Nick stirred, and opened his eyes. “Hey”, I said, careful not to wake Josh, “look over there.” He did look, and then looked back at me. “Isn’t it pretty?” I said. He agreed, and to my delight turned back and watched it until the sun was completely gone before laying back down and closing his eyes again. Though it's possible he was asleep the whole time, I found my soul hoping that he found the same peace in the picture.

There are few things in life that repeatedly take my breath away like a stunning sunrise or sunset. Every one is like a surprise, and makes me stop for a second and really take notice of the world around me bathed in the beauty of the sun. Like a bookworm in a sparkly dress and an 'up do', the magic of twilight turns even the dullest of scenes into a fairytale. The view wraps me in a cocoon of warmth made of awe, peace, comfort, hope and...assurance that out of even the darkest and most desperate life God can and does create breathtaking beauty.

posted by: squintzinca at October 08, 2008 03:21 | link | comments (1) |